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AT&T Will not let me cancel my contract WITH the ETF!

This reminded me. Last year when the 3G came out, Christopher Price, a self-claimed "Wireless consumer advocate" made a post on how to do this exact scheme, and I commented telling him AT&T would figure it out and change their terms, which he claimed would never happen. Look who's right now? :D
 
glide said:
Today is day 31 of owning my iphone 3GS. I called AT&T to cancel.

They told me my billing cycle runs from the 14th to the 14th and I cannot cancel until then. They can only "suspend" my line.

I'm not sure how this is possible. I started a new line of service and purchased my iphone on the 19th of June. Shouldn't my billing cycle start the day I signed the contract?

They are now charging me for an additional month of service that I do not intend to use. How is this possible/legal?

I want to pay for the 31 days I have used + the ETF. Has anyone else had a similar issue trying to cancel a new line of service? I'm wondering if I should pay the bill with my AMEX then dispute the charges, or file a complaint with the BBB and FCC...
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<jerk>
Waaaahhhhh! I signed a contract that I didn't read and now I'm mad that I'm being forced to abide by it.
</jerk>
 
uberamd said:
Truth. I strongly feel its very low to buy a phone, and cancel the contract after 30 days so you can keep it at a lower price to make a few hundred dollars. Get a life, thats such a dirty scam tactic it makes me sick. This is one reason I'm sure cell phone service prices won't ever decrease, they need the extra money to protect themselves from lowlifes like the OP.

I *really* wish canceling a signed contract within X months went on your credit rating to help discourage this crap and alert other carriers you may seek that you have this track record. -or- force the return of the phone or make them pay the remainder of the subsidy.

Total disgrace.
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Disgrace? A lot of people do this. They dont want the contract, what dont you get. My friend did the same thing. He wants to use the 3gs on t-mobile. He signed up for ATT for a month and cancelled and paid the ETF. This is allowed by ATT so what is scum about it.
 
Cescfabregas4 said:
Disgrace? A lot of people do this. They dont want the contract, what dont you get. My friend did the same thing. He wants to use the 3gs on t-mobile. He signed up for ATT for a month and cancelled and paid the ETF. This is allowed by ATT so what is scum about it.
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Yeah, a disgrace. And everyone who does this, including your friend falls into that category. I can see the rules changing down the road.
 
Cescfabregas4 said:
Disgrace? A lot of people do this. They dont want the contract, what dont you get. My friend did the same thing. He wants to use the 3gs on t-mobile. He signed up for ATT for a month and cancelled and paid the ETF. This is allowed by ATT so what is scum about it.
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Because to do so, you need to not only break a contract, you have to break the user agreement of the iphone by unlocking it to work on another carrier.

But clearly people feel ENTITLED to do whatever they want. That's what is scum about it. In fact - doing that alone isn't the scummier part. What's scummy is COMPLAINING about having to pay a little more because you can't read the contract you signed in the first place. The OP posted the wrong thread topic - ATT has no problem letting you out of a contract *IF* you abide by the termination agreement. Griping about the extra charge is scummy

p.s. I sincerely hope those people who are so quick to abuse the system get screwed over by t-mobile with data charges and other contractural issues.

It's not me supporting ATT. It's me supporting ethics..

If I want a Palm Pre - I would have to be on Sprint. I would accept that and if I didn't like sprint, or coverage was bad in my area or whatever - I would just choose a different phone. Same goes for any phone, etc.
 
uberamd said:
Yeah, a disgrace. And everyone who does this, including your friend falls into that category. I can see the rules changing down the road.
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So you agree that they are following the rules. So, if they are following the rules how is it a disgrace?
 
samcraig said:
Because to do so, you need to not only break a contract, you have to break the user agreement of the iphone by unlocking it to work on another carrier.

But clearly people feel ENTITLED to do whatever they want. That's what is scum about it. In fact - doing that alone isn't the scummier part. What's scummy is COMPLAINING about having to pay a little more because you can't read the contract you signed in the first place. The OP posted the wrong thread topic - ATT has no problem letting you out of a contract *IF* you abide by the termination agreement. Griping about the extra charge is scummy

p.s. I sincerely hope those people who are so quick to abuse the system get screwed over by t-mobile with data charges and other contractural issues.

It's not me supporting ATT. It's me supporting ethics..

If I want a Palm Pre - I would have to be on Sprint. I would accept that and if I didn't like sprint, or coverage was bad in my area or whatever - I would just choose a different phone. Same goes for any phone, etc.
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The contact itself states that you are allowed to break the contract. If they didnt want you to break the contract they would not put that in there.

Ok what about those that do the same thing, but want to use it on ATT prepaid, are they scum too?
 
samcraig said:
Because to do so, you need to not only break a contract, you have to break the user agreement of the iphone by unlocking it to work on another carrier.

But clearly people feel ENTITLED to do whatever they want. That's what is scum about it. In fact - doing that alone isn't the scummier part. What's scummy is COMPLAINING about having to pay a little more because you can't read the contract you signed in the first place. The OP posted the wrong thread topic - ATT has no problem letting you out of a contract *IF* you abide by the termination agreement. Griping about the extra charge is scummy

p.s. I sincerely hope those people who are so quick to abuse the system get screwed over by t-mobile with data charges and other contractural issues.

It's not me supporting ATT. It's me supporting ethics..

If I want a Palm Pre - I would have to be on Sprint. I would accept that and if I didn't like sprint, or coverage was bad in my area or whatever - I would just choose a different phone. Same goes for any phone, etc.
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Are may agree with you on the highlighted part. I just dont agree that you should not be able to break your contract.
 
uberamd said:
Because what they are doing is underhanded and they know it.
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The only thing it is is morally questionable, but that is based on your morals. It is in no way shady, underhanded, or against the rules.

If it were close to those things AT&T would change the contract to either deny it or require you to hand back your phone so they can sell it as a refurb.
 
Cescfabregas4 said:
If it was underhanded ATT would change the rules.
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We're going to have to agree to disagree

If you go to an all-you-can-eat restaurant as soon as it opens until the minue it closes - yes, you are not breaking any rule - but it is cheap and underhanded to exploit the system in that manner.

The OP's statement was"ATT&T will not let me cancel my contract WITH the ETF" and that is simply not true. The OP is upset that he's being charged (appropriately) for the service he signed up for when he accepted the terms.
 
Cescfabregas4 said:
Are may agree with you on the highlighted part. I just dont agree that you should not be able to break your contract.
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Well if I broke my contract with my bank and stopped making my car loan payments I can guarantee they would take my car away and damage my credit rating. IMO, cell phone companies should do the same.
 
you did all this to get the 3gs cheap and now you want to sue AT&T. With the ETF and the extra month, I'd say you are still getting a steal.
 
OP should have just bought the iPhone without a contract. The price subsidy is in exchange for two years of customer loyalty. He had no intention of keeping with AT&T for the two years, therefore should have paid for the phone without a contract.

I don't like AT&T and thought about buying the phone without a contract. The price subsidy made me think otherwise, so I got the cheap phone in exchange for agreeing to stay with AT&T. Quid pro quo.
 
CalMin said:
OP should have just bought the iPhone without a contract. The price subsidy is in exchange for two years of customer loyalty. He had no intention of keeping with AT&T for the two years, therefore should have paid for the phone without a contract.

I don't like AT&T and thought about buying the phone without a contract. The price subsidy made me think otherwise, so I got the cheap phone in exchange for agreeing to stay with AT&T. Quid pro quo.
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Att allows you to break the contract. It is stated in the agreement itself. If I was to upgrade my iphone 3g today it would cost me $500. Instead I am going to add a line onto my account and get it for $200. I will cancel my old line at the prorated cost of $105. Now the iphone 3gs is costing me $305 plus the activation fee, which they may wave if I ask nicely. I can sell my iphone 3g and come out even. This, all by following ATT rules.
 
Cescfabregas4 said:
Att allows you to break the contract. It is stated in the agreement itself. If I was to upgrade my iphone 3g today it would cost me $500. Instead I am going to add a line onto my account and get it for $200. I will cancel my old line at the prorated cost of $105. Now the iphone 3gs is costing me $305 plus the activation fee, which they may wave if I ask nicely. I can sell my iphone 3g and come out even. This, all by following ATT rules.
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Ya.. and if you cancelled in 31 days, had to pay for a month + pro-rated from time of purchase + ETF, then you'd be over 500. So you're either going to stay with ATT or cost yourself more money.

You're free to do what you want. But if you come back on this board and post (like the OP) that you want to report ATT to the BBB because you had to pay for service, expect the same series of posts.
 
uberamd said:
I *really* wish canceling a signed contract within X months went on your credit rating to help discourage this crap and alert other carriers you may seek that you have this track record. -or- force the return of the phone or make them pay the remainder of the subsidy.
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I think that the latter is the only viable option...

Having a credit score hit is completely unfair; They're are plenty of situations where you would need to cancel your contract, like if you move to a neighborhood that has poor AT&T service. You would need to switch carriers, and your credit rating should have nothing to do with it.
 
Att is not stupid, they know what is going on. ATT has no problem with it because they are getting their money. The contract states that you can break your agreement, but at a cost. If the consumer is willing to pay that cost, Att is happy with it. I broke my tmobile contract (no ETF because of change of terms) to come to ATT for the iPhone. I am sure that ATT was happy with that. Why are people complaining about rules that ATT themselves put in place.
 
Have you been reading a lot of the posts?

The complaint originated because the OP said (and named the thread) that ATT will not let him cancel.

That's false - he is 100 percent allowed to cancel.

The OP moaned about having to pay a pro-rated amount to align his billing cycle and asked if he should contact the BBB or stop payment or whatever

That's because some people feel a level of entitlement where they can just do whatever they want and everyone/company should just accomodate them on THEIR terms.

What you're reading is a response to THAT mentality...
 
AbSoluTc said:
Ding ding. We have a winner! :)

See OP, this is karma coming back at you. Your trying to work the system, however, the system is now working you.

You have 30 days to cancel the contract and not have to pay an EFT and only pay for the minutes you used on your contract. However, since you are now PAST the 30 days, you have to pay an EFT, your first months bill and ANY pro-rated service as well. That is how it works.
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An EFT? I love this board. I love how everyone on this board is magically an ATT CSR, and can now make assumptions about what people are doing. Great. You got it. Now, if only you guys could apply this sort of deduction to something productive in life, we'd have something!

Regardless of what the ToS say, you don't know if this guy is selling it for profit. Maybe he is. Who cares. That's how life is. His business should be none of your concern. He asked a question about this situation and apparently previous posters have taken the liberty to interpret the ToS.

OP, truth be told - it is in the ToS, but that hasn't stopped anyone. I'd go back somewhere or call somewhere else and see if you can get it to go through. The posters on this board complaining are hardly aware of half the crap that goes through ATT's fingers, let alone those 'flipping the iPhone for profit'. And if you really are flipping it, hell, more power to you and you beating the system! ;)
 
JPIndustrie said:
An EFT? I love this board. I love how everyone on this board is magically an ATT CSR, and can now make assumptions about what people are doing. Great. You got it. Now, if only you guys could apply this sort of deduction to something productive in life, we'd have something!

Regardless of what the ToS say, you don't know if this guy is selling it for profit. Maybe he is. Who cares. That's how life is. His business should be none of your concern. He asked a question about this situation and apparently previous posters have taken the liberty to interpret the ToS.

OP, truth be told - it is in the ToS, but that hasn't stopped anyone. I'd go back somewhere or call somewhere else and see if you can get it to go through. The posters on this board complaining are hardly aware of half the crap that goes through ATT's fingers, let alone those 'flipping the iPhone for profit'. And if you really are flipping it, hell, more power to you and you beating the system! ;)
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If its his business, why is he posting it here. Posting it here makes it no longer a private matter.
 
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